


The Fall Of A Champion

by IdiotStarfish



Category: Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22489540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdiotStarfish/pseuds/IdiotStarfish
Summary: Lyra is ready to battle any trainer she meets, and Red is no exception.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	The Fall Of A Champion

It was cold. Of course it was. She should’ve expected that. Lyra curled her fingers into her Houndoom's warm fur, breathing out a puff of air that she could see. The stone walls of the cave they were in pressed around her, making it feel even colder than it was. She could hear the storm outside, roaring and whipping around the mountain. 

She was almost there. 

Houndoom huffed out an Ember, a move she no longer battled with but still remembered from her days as a Houndour. Lyra, sensing her impatience, stood. “Alright, girl,” she said to her Pokemon, her voice echoing, “let's go.” 

They walked through the long, twisting cave for a few more moments, the storm growing louder with each step, before finally Lyra saw the exit ahead. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the cave, Houndoom at her side, out into the harsh blizzard raging on top of Mount Silver. 

And there she saw him. 

She didn’t even have to look, which she was grateful for. Moving at all felt like a challenge in this weather, honestly. 

There he stood, facing away from her. 

The Indigo League Champion, the Battle Master, The One That Disappeared, World Champion, Him, whatever you want to call him. Red. 

He turned to look at her almost as soon as she stepped out into the open, as if he could hear her every step, her every breath, her every heartbeat. They stood there, looking at each other, for several moments that dragged on like hours in Lyra's impatient mind. Neither of them said a thing. Neither of them had to. Somehow, he knew what she wanted. Maybe he could see it in her eyes, or maybe she wasn’t the first to find him up here and challenge him. Either way, he knew. 

With a flash of blue light, a Pikachu appeared by his side. The Pokemon hopped in front of his trainer, ready to defend Red's many titles. He was ready to win. 

But so was she. 

Keeping Houndoom at her side for the extra warmth, she reached into her bag and sent out her Umbreon. None of her Pokemon had a type advantage against Pikachu, so Umbreon was probably her best bet. 

“You ready, love?” She called to her Pokemon, watching as the Eeveelution found her footing on the snow and stone beneath her. Umbreon let out an excited cry, her way of saying she was ready. “Then let’s start.”

Red let out a low whistle, confusing Lyra for a moment, until she heard a familiar sound, a loud crack! that could only mean a Thunderbolt was coming. _Oh!_ She realized. _The whistle must be how he commands them!_ Had Green mentioned that? He might have mentioned that while she was busy thinking about how she was going to find this Red guy and beat him. “Umbreon, dodge it!”

The attack blasted towards her, but at the last second Umbreon leaped out of the way, rolling on the unfamiliar terrain as she slipped on it. She recovered quickly, bouncing back onto her paws. Another whistle started, but Lyra interrupted. 

“Dark Pulse!” An aura of various shades of violet surrounded Umbreon before it exploded away from her in a flurry of colors, knocking Pikachu onto the ground. He looked like he was about to bounce right back up despite the damage he’d taken, but quickly Lyra called for another attack. Get them while they’re down, then they’ll be easier to keep down. She’d learned that a long time ago, and although I wasn’t the nicest thing to do, battling wasn’t always going to be very pleasant. “Bite!”

Umbreon launched herself at Pikachu and clamped her jaws down on his tail, earning a sharp cry from the electric type. Red whistled and water whirled, surrounded Pikachu, and then threw itself away from him in waves, pushing Umbreon away from him. _Was that Surf? What the hell? Pikachu can’t learn Surf! That’s impossible!  
_

Then again, this guy is known for doing the impossible. This kid, only a few years older than her, was known for being so strong that some people saw it as impossible. Weird. She’d never actually thought about that. 

While she was thinking, Umbreon was shivering due to getting wet in this freezing cold and struggling to stand. Red whistled in the same way he had when calling for Thunderbolt. The cracking came again, and though Umbreon tried to roll away to dodge, she wasn’t fast enough and had to take the hit. Lyra almost flinched at the cry her Pokemon let out. Next to her, Houndoom growled, clearly not pleased with how the battle was going to far. 

Red whistled again, in a tone she didn’t recognize, and the sound of sparks filled the battlefield. Surrounded by a veil of electricity, Pikachu launched himself at Umbreon, crashing into her. Volt Tackle. “Umbreon!” Umbreon managed to roll away from Pikachu, but she could still barely stand. This was not how this battle was supposed to start off. 

Well, if there’s anything she’s learned from the Elite Four, it's that Full Restores are a gift from the gods. 

As she dug through her bag, Red seemed to realize what she was doing and refrain from whistling any more commands, instead just watching her. That was nice. Maybe being polite is a trend among Kantonian Champions – then again, she wouldn’t actually know for sure, she’s only met three. She walked over to where her Pokemon lay shivering and kneeled down in front of her. Scratching her between the ears, Lyra sprayed the Full Restore anywhere Umbreon looked battered. Afterwards, she kissed Umbreon's nose, stepped away, whispered a small “thank you, sorry” to Red and went back to where she’d been standing before, next to Houndoom. 

“Back to the battle?” She asked, and he nodded. She could’ve sworn there was a small smile on his face, but she didn’t know for sure. 

He whistled in an unknown tune, and with speed so incredible Lyra could barely see him, Pikachu rushed towards Umbreon. “Let it hit you, love!” Red, looking confused and alarmed, gave her a strange look, but Pikachu didn’t let his confusion stop him. He cannoned into Umbreon, and while they were close, Umbreon used their favorite trick. A pinkish aura surrounded Pikachu and threw him off of her. She could tell from the way it looked that it was a critical hit. He landed several feet away, defeated. Lyra smirked. Psychic always had been one of her favorite moves. 

Red made a strange noise as he recalled Pikachu; something that sounded like an odd mix of surprised, impressed, and angry. Her smirk only grew. _Hell yeah. Put the emotions you’ve got into your battling; that always makes them fun._

Maybe her thoughts were a bit rude, or impolite, but she didn’t really care. She was too caught up in the adrenaline of battling. She sent Umbreon back into its pokeball, waiting for Red to make his next move, her numbing fingers already in her bag to reach for whichever Pokemon she needed. Finally, Red sent out his Blastoise. Awesome.

Out went her Jumpluff, looking nervous but ready. Silver had called him weak, but the little guy always pulled through, and he did great under pressure. And he could definitely handle a simple Blastoise. _Don’t get cocky,_ she told herself, though it wouldn't stop her. She always did this, and it never ended well for her, but oh, she couldn’t help it. He overconfidence would always be a problem. “Your move,” she said while smirking, two words she’d regret in just a second. 

Red whistled and the storm around them strengthened, the wind whirling faster and the cold deepening. _...Fuck. ‘Course he used Blizzard._ The move hit Jumpluff hard, and the weight of guilt and regret appeared on her chest. Somehow, Jumpluff managed to tough it out for her. “Synthesis!” It didn’t do much, but it gave him some energy back, and some was all he’d need. 

“Alright, now, Double-Edge!” A risky move, yes, but she wouldn’t be Lyra if she didn’t take a lot of risks. She just had to hope this would work. 

Jumpluff burst forward in a flash of light. Red whistled and Blastoise used Hydro Cannon, crashing into Jumpluff head-on. He hadn’t intended to, but Red had just given her the perfect opportunity. “Jumpluff, Mega Drain!” Not the strongest move, used by not the strongest Pokemon, but it knocked back Blastoise and gave Jumpluff enough energy to let him finish using Double-Edge. The recoil was harsh, but so was the damage dealt on Blastoise, so it was worth it. Another Blizzard by Blastoise and Jumpluff was down for the count. 

She sent back her Pokemon and Red did the same. Red tossed out Venusaur, and she was about to send out Slowking, but Houndoom ran forward, stopping a few feet in front of the other Pokemon. Lyra huffed, visible in the cold. She should’ve been able to tell that she was getting impatient and itching for battle. She already missed the heat that came with Houndoom being next to her. “Alright, fine, then,” she muttered. “Flamethrower.” 

Houndoom sucked in a breath and then released a powerful shot of fire, hitting Venusaur hard but not knocking her out just yet. He whistled and Venusaur managed to somehow regain almost all the health that Houndoom had taken away. _That was Synthesis, but how’d it do so much better than Jumpluff's did? Is it because she’s more used to this weather?_ Lyra clenched her fist. _Whatever. I’ve gotta stop thinking. If I wanna win, I just have to keep battling._

“Flamethrower, again.” The process repeated with Houndoom using Flamethrower and Venusaur Synthesis once, then twice, and then it ended with Venusaur using Toxic before Houndoom could land her hit. 

Houndoom stumbled, trying to fight off the poison she’d just had inflicted on her. Dammit! “Ugh…alright, Houndoom, Flamethrower, again!” Houndoom landed her hit and Red used Synthesis once again, clearly not going to let his starter go out easy. “Now, Houndoom, return!” Houndoom stumbled back over to where she was before, sitting down next to her as she’d done before. Lyra sent out her Slowking, calling out an order quickly before Red could whistle for another move. 

“Disable, then Psychic!” Slowking let out a low cry as he disabled his opponent's move, and a pink aura surrounded Venusaur and knocked her back, leaving her with low health and unable to heal herself. Red recalled Venusaur and sent out his Charizard. _Oh, that’s fine, Slowking knows –_

A whistle sounded and Charizard flapped his wings violently, sending strong winds towards Lyra's side of the battlefield. Lyra covered her eyes with an arm as the wind pressed against her face. She heard the sound of a Pokemon going into a pokeball and then out of it, and when she uncovered her eyes, her Skarmory was out instead of Slowking. Whirlwind. Great. 

Red whistled, and a Flamethrower shot out of Charizard's mouth. Lyra could tell it was a critical hit; usually Skarmory could tank super effective moves. She sighed as she sent Skarmory back into her pokeball. She couldn’t even use a single move… _Don't worry, love._ She thought, as though her fainted Pokemon could hear. _I’ll win this for you._

“Feraligatr!” Ah, her undefeated starter. Undefeated if you don’t count a few times, anyway, and she didn’t. Red whistled and Charizard soared up into the air, disappearing into the storm. Fly. “Keep an eye out for him!” Lyra called, both she and her Pokemon staring up at the sky. She tapped her foot impatiently. She hated waiting for attacks. 

Finally, Charizard dove down. Feraligatr jumped out of the way, but another whistle sounded and her starter was slashed across the stomach. “Rock Slide!” Stones slid out of the sky, crashing onto Charizard and crushing him beneath them. Lyra smirked. Gotta love super-super effective moves. Charizard managed to tough it out with barely any health, but a single Slash and he was down. 

Red, looking a bit desperate – _Strange,_ Lyra thought, _aren’t Champions usually confident all the time?_ – sent out Snorlax. _Dammit. I hate these things. Their defense suck, but the attacks are insane._

Thinking as quickly as she could, she withdrew Feraligatr and sent out Slowking. “Dynamic Punch!” Usually there would be a 50/50 chance of that hit landing, but since Snorlax was too slow to dodge, it would be pretty hard to miss. Red whistled, and Snorlax drifted off to sleep. Rest. Wouldn’t do much, though. “Again, Slowking!” Dynamic Punch his once again, knocking Snorlax out. Lyra let a bit of his confidence return. He had three Pokemon left, two of which were already hurt, and she had four, one of which poisoned but the others mostly fine. 

Looking panicked now, Red sent Venusaur back out, but she was already hurt, and she couldn’t use Synthesis, so she was knocked out quickly by Slowking's Blizzard. 

Only two Pokemon left. This battle hadn’t gone as smoothly as she’d originally planned, but it was working out. He sent out Blastoise and Lyra, who just felt weird not letting all of her Pokemon get a chance in the spotlight, revived Skarmory and sent her out. Red whistle, and Blastoise shot out a harsh blast of water. Hydro Pump. Skarmory was able to take it without too much damage. “Fly!” Skarmory shot up into the air, and, despite Lyra’s growing confidence, she couldn’t help but worry about how she was doing up there, up in the freezing cold storm. But after a moment, Skarmory shot back down, crashing into Blastoise with a sharp cry that Lyra knew meant that she was ready to win.   
_Oh my Lugia._ She thought as she watched Skarmory use Drill Peck on Blastoise once and then again before the water type collapsed to the ground, fainted. _Oh Lugia we’re actually going to win this aren’t we. Oh. Holy shit._ She’d come up here expecting to win, of course, she always expected herself to win, and during their battle she’d recognized that it was very likely she was going to win, but only now was she actually processing what it actually meant. 

Red sent out his last Pokemon – and Espeon. Lyra, not wanting to send Houndoom back into battle, sent Umbreon back out. She knew the dark type was tired, but she was also healthy, and that was what she needed. Her hands were shaking and the blood was roaring in her ears. The normal excitement she always felt when she knew she was going to win was stronger now than ever. Red didn’t whistle for this Pokemon, so Lyra got no warning for when moves were coming. 

A Swift came rushing forward towards Umbreon, deflected easily by a Dark Pulse. “Bite!” Umbreon leaped over to Espeon and clamped down on her tail. Espeon, snarling, whirled away and shot another Swift at her. Umbreon jumped out of the way and shot out a Dark Pulse. Oh, Lugia, Espeon's health is low. It's almost over. 

_I’m gonna win._

“Umbreon, Bite, one last time!” Umbreon, letting out a triumphant cry, bit down on Espeon’s leg, swinging her head until Espeon fainted.   
She’d done it. 

She beat him. 

She met Red's confused, shocked face with a matching expression. And then she smiled at him, and he smiled back. 

She’d won.

**Author's Note:**

> Listen Lyra is just a gremlin and you can rip this from my cold dead hands


End file.
